Pamela Sue Evette (née Gajoch; born August 28, 1967) is an American politician and businesswoman and the 93rd

lieutenant governor of South Carolina The lieutenant governor of South Carolina is the second-in-command to the governor of South Carolina. Beyond overseeing the Office on Aging and the responsibility to act or serve as governor in the event of the office's vacancy, the duties of th ...

since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was the CEO of Quality Business Solutions in

Upstate South Carolina The Upstate is the region in the westernmost part of South Carolina, United States, also known as the Upcountry, which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerc ...

before her election as lieutenant governor. She is the first lieutenant governor to be elected on the same ticket as the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. She has been in office since January 9, 2019, when

Henry McMaster Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since January 24, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. McMaster worked for U.S. senator Strom Thurmond, in ...

began his first elected term as governor.

Background

Evette is the granddaughter of Polish immigrants. Born in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Evette earned her

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

(B.B.A.) in accounting from

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...

. Evette worked as an accountant until returning to

Travelers Rest, South Carolina Travelers Rest is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,576 at the 2010 census, a small increase from 4,099 in 2000. By 2018 the population had jumped to 5,253. It is part of the Greenville– Mauld ...

in 2005, where she founded and acted as CEO of Quality Business Solutions, a

payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

, HR and back-office solutions software firm. Evette was the first lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket as the governor. Before the 2018 election, South Carolina lieutenant governors were elected independently of the governor. She defeated

Mandy Powers Norrell Mandy Powers Norrell (born July 12, 1973) is an American lawyer, politician and former Democratic member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Norrell formerly represented House District 44, which comprises the southern portion of Lanc ...

in the gubernatorial election on November 6, 2018. Evette took office as South Carolina's second female lieutenant governor (the first being Nancy Stevenson from 1979 through 1983 under

Richard Riley Richard Wilson Riley (born January 2, 1933) is an American politician, the United States Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton and the 111th governor of South Carolina. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Riley is the only De ...

) on January 9, 2019. Behind Nancy Stevenson, Evette is the second woman to hold the role of lieutenant governor, and first Republican woman to hold the office.

Lieutenant Governor

As lieutenant governor, a largely ceremonial role in South Carolina, Evette has spent much of her time giving speeches and addresses that support Governor

. Evette said in an interview with the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

that she has "doubled the potential footprint" of the governor's office through hosting various events across the state and communicating with lawmakers. Evette is South Carolina's first lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket as the governor. Her predecessor, Kevin L. Bryant, was a political enemy of Governor McMaster, and the two consequentially did not have the same political agenda. In October 2019, Evette was involved in a car collision in

Greer, South Carolina Greer is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 35,308 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census Greer is ...

when her driver inappropriately activated his flashing blue and red lights to go through an intersection. Evette's driver was cited, and Evette was uninjured. In November 2022, McMaster and Evette won reelection.

Awards and honors

In 2015, Evette was ranked the #3 top female entrepreneurs in the United States by

Inc. Magazine ''Inc.'' is an American business magazine founded in 1979 and based in New York City. The magazine publishes six issues per year, along with surrounding online and social media content. The magazine also produces several live and virtual events y ...

, noting that as CEO, she grew her business to a one-billion-dollar enterprise in the 15 years since its inception.

Electoral history

Personal life

Evette is married to David Evette, with whom she has one son. She also has one son and one daughter from a previous marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evette, Pamela 1967 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Businesspeople from South Carolina Cleveland State University alumni Lieutenant Governors of South Carolina Living people People from Travelers Rest, South Carolina South Carolina Republicans Women in South Carolina politics